I've been reading this forum for awhile now, thinking I could just read all the info the experienced low carbers put in here and I'd be ok. But I am on my third day of eating uncontrollably.

In the past year I have lost 40 pds. First 15 with diet pills and the last 25 with Atkins. In the past I have been on WW and every time I get around the 170s I quit and eventually gain it all back. I thought this time would be different with low carb.

I usually eat
B: 2 halves of a deviled egg and 2 pcs bacon -- sf relish with the eggs
L: salad with lettuce, ranch, bacon bits, and shredded cheese
S: Chicken or hamburger without the bun

I am drinking tea with Splenda and making fat bombs with 4 Tbsp pb, choc baking square, 1/2 Splenda and a stick of butter. I drink a lot of tea and eat about 6 out of the 12 fat bombs in a day. I can't do without sweets and the more frazzled I get the more I eat.

So this is me asking for help, encouragement, analysis, kick in the pants....whatever it takes. I want this to work for me, but I've realized I can't do it alone. HELP! I've fallen and I can't get up!

Appetite is a real biological thing and a rebound usually means we're fighting against it rather than repairing it. Maybe experiment with a broader range of meat and veggies to get fully nourished? It's not enough just to dodge carbs.

Any food you can't control is one you need to get some distance from, no matter how LC it is. Try typing up a 7-day menu + shopping list and see if you can stick to it for 2 consecutive weeks. It's easier to resist when you know there's a proper meal coming.

Your diet looks awfully low on vegetables to me; all you mention is lettuce, and if it's just some iceberg lettuce, you aren't getting many nutrients from that. I agree with Pickle Pete about eating a broader range of meat and veggies--and eating more low starch veggies--to improve your diet. There are some theories that people get the urge to eat uncontrollably when they are lacking key nutrients, and their body responds by ramping up hunger. Based on your description of what you are "usually" eating, that might apply to you. Also, take a multivitamin if you aren't already doing so. How many calories do you think you are eating per day, and how much protein? It looks skimpy to me, though I don't know portion sizes for your cheese and chicken or burger. Try measuring and entering food into a tracker and then reporting back on calories and grams of fat, protein, and carbs if you want further advice.

A feel like I need a little bit more information. Where are you in the plan at this point? For instance, your menu sounds like induction level - and not really much food at that. And your 'fat bombs' sound both tasty and frightening to me, however they contain peanut butter and peanuts are a legume and much farther up the carb ladder. Are you eating any snacks or other veggies besides the salad at lunch?

Somehow I overlooked the line about your fat bombs. It seems like an awfully large share of your calories are coming from them; I'd suggest eating one as a treat, rather than half a batch as the basis of your diet. The more you make sweets the basis of your diet, the more you'll feel the need to keep eating sweets. For some people, including me, any kind of sweets just make me hungrier; aim for a diet based more on protein, non-starchy vegetables, and fats that aren't so tied to sweets (say, butter on vegetables instead of multiple fat bombs, avocado, olives, chicken thighs with skin, etc.).

I agree with the other posters - ditch the fat bombs in favor of more protein and veggies. Or, if you can handle it, just have one or two a day. At some point you can have a few strawberries...which in my lower-carb world is still nice and sweet but nowhere near as many calories. Hang in there!

__________________

The big question is: How badly do you want this!?!"If it was easy everybody would be doing it." --Me!“All that we are is the result of what we have thought...What we think we become.” BuddhaTHE ONLY THING STOPPING ME IS MYSELF.The "easy way out" is the toughest thing I've ever done.

Your fat bomb consumption jumped out at me as well.
I can't help but wonder if your reliance on sweets is sort of an obsessive/compulsive sort of thing. Yes, we can't do this alone....Have you tried over eater support groups?
If OC issues are derailing your weight loss than the experience and empathy you could find in a support group setting may be helpful.
I wish you well.

The first thing you need to do is read the book. People on the boards do a lot of things that suit them and work well for them, but they don't work well for everyone and aren't a part of the plan (like fat bombs). After you learn the plan and start it, then you can make tweaks but it's best to start by the book- with a 2 week induction that is focused on eggs, meat, and getting most of your carbs from vegetables.

Splenda and other sweeteners make some people want to keep eating more of them and also can increase appetite. Focus on real foods- like eggs, chicken, some dairy, steaks, green vegetables and other approved induction veggies, fish, roasts, hamburgers, and don't get all of your calories in the form of fat bombs.

I agree with Picklepete. If sweets is what you're achlies heal is then ditch them Totally! I'd say add more lc veggies and natural fats like the avocados etc. Stay away from the fat bombs for now until you can eat 1 and not all of them.

Havefaith and sorry to hear you are struggling. As others have said, there are sometimes some pretty complicated issues that may be at play (I am speaking to the nutritional aspect). I think this can be very real. I have read that most obese people are in fact, malnourished.

Most people have one food (or many) that they have 'portion control issues' with. The only way that I know to get that under control is elimination. It doesn't mean forever but for a length of time that you can get other things under control. In my case it was peanuts and peanut butter. I didn't keep them in my house for a long time but recently realized that a jar of p.b. has been sitting at the back of my fridge - left by my son while he was home at Christmas. It doesn't even whisper my name anymore.

Your problem food could be nuts or nut butter as well. I would try elimination.

Set yourself up for success. Make a menu at the beginning of the day and be sure that it is enough food. It appears that you are not eating very much and that may be the total root of your problem. Let us know what you decide and how you make out?

__________________Cathy
Original start - Feb. 2000 180/125

"The energy content of food (calories) matters, but it is less important than the metabolic effect of food on our body." Dr. P. Attia

Look into L-Glutamine to help control your sweet tooth (and starch cravings). Jimmy Moore had an interview with Dr. Ross that might be helpful. Google 'Dr. Julia Ross jimmy moore atlcx 19'. She brings up l-glutamine at about 20 minutes into the recording. She said it will kill the cravings in about 3 minutes. She also recommends chromium. You can google around for 'L-Glutamine sweet cravings'.

Consider changing your artificial sweetener. Some sweeteners affect some people in bad ways.

Watch out for commercial dressings. Lots of them are not good for LC.

Tea <> water. Be sure you are drinking pure water in adequate amounts.

Outside of the fat bombs, your example menu is very low fat and, apparently, very low calorie. Eat more fat.

Dr. Eades has an excellent two part article on his blog about getting through LC induction. Google 'Dr. Eades tips & tricks for starting low carb'.

If you haven't done it yet, go wheat-free.

Unless you are prepared to invest a lot of time in getting familiar with LC and how it works, follow a defined plan. Even if you do plan on studying up a lot on LC, a defined plan at the beginning is still a good idea.

Read Why We Get Fat by Taubes, Wheat Belly by Dr. Davis, and The Art and Science of Low Carb Living by Phinney/Volek.

I've been reading this forum for awhile now, thinking I could just read all the info the experienced low carbers put in here and I'd be ok. But I am on my third day of eating uncontrollably.

In the past year I have lost 40 pds. First 15 with diet pills and the last 25 with Atkins. In the past I have been on WW and every time I get around the 170s I quit and eventually gain it all back. I thought this time would be different with low carb.

I usually eat
B: 2 halves of a deviled egg and 2 pcs bacon -- sf relish with the eggs
L: salad with lettuce, ranch, bacon bits, and shredded cheese
S: Chicken or hamburger without the bun

I am drinking tea with Splenda and making fat bombs with 4 Tbsp pb, choc baking square, 1/2 Splenda and a stick of butter. I drink a lot of tea and eat about 6 out of the 12 fat bombs in a day. I can't do without sweets and the more frazzled I get the more I eat.

So this is me asking for help, encouragement, analysis, kick in the pants....whatever it takes. I want this to work for me, but I've realized I can't do it alone. HELP! I've fallen and I can't get up!

The peanut butter in your fat bombs is a nono right now...use cocoa instead and limit them to one after a meal or as a snack...you need to eat more veggies than the iceberg lettuce... you can do this the first two weeks is important...it is like a cleansing or withdrawl period...you wll feel like you can't do it but you must make yourself do the 2 weeks with very lc induction level foods...no pb, it is a legume and people have big addictive issues with it.

Fat is good to keep you feeling good and you should eat until satiated the food you are allowed...don't eat just because you can. Eat when you are truly hungry, stop , and then if you need more later because you are truly hungry, eat...that the beauty of low carb is after all so don't feel guilty about eating if you are truly hungry and not just bored or emotionally hungry.

picklepete: I quit the fat bombs. Going grocery shopping today with my list. I can do two weeks.

svenskamae: I upped veggies yesterday. I keep forgetting my multivitamin about half the time. I tracked yesterday and will report back in a couple weeks what my macros looked like. Making notes: butter on veggies, skin on chicken.

kitcub: Where am I at on the plan? Good question! Idk. I think I had found a few things that I liked and ate that exclusively. Forgot about the rest!

HotTamale: ty for the encouragement. ;-)

avid: ty2 . I have tried WW and I hate the group meetings. I love LCF on the internet tho!

Princessmommy: Sweets ARE my downfall. Your beginning stats are close to mine. I will ditch the sweets........for now. ha

Clackley: I thought chocolate was my problem food, but it may very well be the pb. I will make a menu.

Red: I will look for L-Glutamine. Only drinking water since yesterday and what a difference that made. Down 1.5 on the scales this a.m. I bought WWGF per your suggestion a couple months ago. I need to reread that one too.

lterry: Did not know pb was addictive. Thought that was a good protein for me and not junk food. Didn't know it was a legume either.

lisamt: Added tuna to my midday salad--tuna in oil.

Wow this was an eye opener. Exactly what I was hoping for in advice. I had gotten into a rut already! Small things make a big difference. I feel back on track as of yesterday after reading all y'alls replies. I've done low fat and low calorie for so long that I don't even realize I'm doing that. I've read the Induction part of Atkins. I haven't gone any further. I try to lose and then skip to moderation. My bad. I also don't know near what I thought I did on nutrition. Ty all. I really appreciate all the help. Also my memory really sucks and I am losing hair in large amounts. Is that normal?

Temporary hair loss is common with weight loss or other stress on one's body. It will grow back. Try taking biotin (a B vitamin). It may slow down the hair loss and will make your nails and hair stronger.

I just came off of a 6-week stall. What made me start losing? I never did drink the water. I didn't want to have to pee continually, and I didn't believe it did anything...something I heard on the news! Anyway, in a fit of desperation, I started drinking my 80 oz. of water, and low and behold. I am losing again. I'm not sure that is what did it, because I also cut my portions a bit, but I think it was the water. I had tried cutting out aspartame and sour cream, and adding more veggies, but nothing worked. The water did the trick.

just wanted to chime in and say I really feel you on the fat bomb bingeing thing. lc sweet treats are bad news for me ESPECIALLY if they involve peanut butter. I bought a big jar of chunky pb for a sauce I was making and ended up standing there eating ten heaping tablespoons before I was even really aware of what I was doing... it was delicious, and fatty, and satisfying, and also totally blew up my carb totals for that day 9and the next!)

so now I just stay away completely and after a few days the cravings go away.

__________________
<--- this picture is me. I am not pregnant. it's me at about 225 lbs with a FOOD BABY. and food babies are no fun.

Are you perhaps trying to quit smoking at the same time? I noticed you mentioned the word frazzled. E-cigs might be a necessity in your diet. I have read about people using e-cigs to replace an eating habit. Just a thought.

To everyone overeating. I feel your pain. I bought a tub of LC ice cream with good intentions. Had a half a cup one day after dinner, had the rest of the tub a few days later because I was hungry and too lazy to cook something else. This is why nothing in my apartment takes less than five minutes to prepare, and I never cook for future meals, because I'll just overeat.

I have to struggle to fight impulse buying. Dang, the goodies just LEAP off the shelves & into my basket! I confess, sometimes they don't even make it home. How sadis that. Text book BINGE!! Other times, I'll but a box of say 5 Atkins bars... but they will trigger cravings for me & what I intended to last a week, is gone in a day or 2 (maybe). If it triggers a binge, I can not have it. NO, Darn it, I CAN'T eat just one!
I know where most of my grocery items are located. I avoid parts of the store where there are temptations.

Atkins, if I have cravings beyond the first week or so, I look for hidden carbs or sugars. I just have to get through the first week.

WE can do this together. WE can be strong. If you meet me in the grocery, I'm the guy on the scooter with the tenis raquet to fight off those jumping carbs!

__________________
"Eat all you need to not be hungry, eat only what you need to not be hungry... eat on plan." Dr Atkins Diet Revolution @1972

"NO, I CAN'T EAT JUST ONE!" "Lead me not into carb temptation!"

Multiple Sclerosis Dx 2001 *a lot of meds* now SP * Able to stand & shuffle a few steps with support: does not = meaningful exercise. Harder to do by just WOE... but gotta stay ON it.

I have to struggle to fight impulse buying. Dang, the goodies just LEAP off the shelves & into my basket! I confess, sometimes they don't even make it home. How sadis that. Text book BINGE!! Other times, I'll but a box of say 5 Atkins bars... but they will trigger cravings for me & what I intended to last a week, is gone in a day or 2 (maybe). If it triggers a binge, I can not have it. NO, Darn it, I CAN'T eat just one!
I know where most of my grocery items are located. I avoid parts of the store where there are temptations.

Atkins, if I have cravings beyond the first week or so, I look for hidden carbs or sugars. I just have to get through the first week.

WE can do this together. WE can be strong. If you meet me in the grocery, I'm the guy on the scooter with the tenis raquet to fight off those jumping carbs!

Well, you sure have a great sense of humor and an interesting way of putting things! Thanks for a post that made me laugh.

But you make an excellent serious point. If something is a trigger food for you, that you can't stop eating or that "calls to you" when you aren't actually physically hungry, keep it out of the cart, out of the kitchen, and out of your mouth.

The standard advice to be full of nourishing food (and some fat) before shopping, shop from a list, and shop the perimeter of the grocery store holds here. I like Michael Pollin's advice to pretend your grandmothers are along on your shopping trip, and don't buy anything they wouldn't recognize as food or with ingredients they couldn't spell.

It's hard to catch those treats LEAPING off the shelves & into my basket! I get to the checkout & there they are. I should make them get out & WALK back to their place on the shelves!
Sometimes things which I think are 'safe' will trigger hunger or a BINGE. I've got to add them to the growing list of 'AVOID at all costs.' When the cravings hit... I can't eat 'just one'. That's the temption line that others use to sabotage us LC eaters. Horse-pucky! THEY don't know that 'just one' will throw us off plan or require a restart.
I have to fight my own urges... I don't need supposed friends sabotaging my success. Some of those who did so are overweight/obese... I don't see THEM having any success.

__________________
"Eat all you need to not be hungry, eat only what you need to not be hungry... eat on plan." Dr Atkins Diet Revolution @1972

"NO, I CAN'T EAT JUST ONE!" "Lead me not into carb temptation!"

Multiple Sclerosis Dx 2001 *a lot of meds* now SP * Able to stand & shuffle a few steps with support: does not = meaningful exercise. Harder to do by just WOE... but gotta stay ON it.

It's hard to catch those treats LEAPING off the shelves & into my basket! I get to the checkout & there they are. I should make them get out & WALK back to their place on the shelves!
Sometimes things which I think are 'safe' will trigger hunger or a BINGE. I've got to add them to the growing list of 'AVOID at all costs.' When the cravings hit... I can't eat 'just one'. That's the temption line that others use to sabotage us LC eaters. Horse-pucky! THEY don't know that 'just one' will throw us off plan or require a restart.
I have to fight my own urges... I don't need supposed friends sabotaging my success. Some of those who did so are overweight/obese... I don't see THEM having any success.

We've all got our own triggers, even from supposedly healthy and on-plan foods. I made delicious flax and nutbutter bars with no added sweetener and couldn't stop eating them--so I know I can't make them again. One of the reasons I don't use sweeteners is that they make me hungry (in general); the other is that they make me want to have another (Atkins bar, lowcarb chocolate truffle, whatever it is) and sometimes I can't say no. We have to learn through experience that we can't handle a specific food. And, of course, order the bad foods that jump into our carts to march right back to the shelves.